Did you know the mandatory standard for cosmetics ingredients labelling in Australia recently changed? The Government quietly made changes to the legislation on 24 November 2020.

But before you panic, here’s what’s changed:

• The name of the legislation – it’s changed from the Trade Practices (Consumer Product Information Standards) (Cosmetics) Regulations 1991 to the Consumer Goods (Cosmetics) Information Standard 2020. At least the new one is a bit less of a mouthful?!
• New labelling requirements for hand sanitisers – the mandatory standard outlines information that must be displayed on labels of hand sanitisers where alcohol is the primary active ingredient. This includes the % v/v of alcohol in the product as well as a number of required warnings.

There are no changes to labelling requirements for any other cosmetic products. So unless you make cosmetic hand sanitisers, you won’t be affected.

With the influx of hand sanitisers on the market since COVID-19 changed our lives forever last year, it’s no surprise that the Government has decided to specify what they want to see on labels. It’s in the best interests of consumer safety, including children.

If you do make cosmetic hand sanitisers, there’s a transitional period of 180 days – meaning you’ll have until 24 May 2021 to update your labels.

Hand sanitisers can be either classified as cosmetics, therapeutic goods or ‘excluded goods’, depending on which criteria they meet in terms of formulation, labelling and advertising claims. You can read up about these differences on the TGA website.

Remember – any hand sanitisers that claim they are effective against viruses must be approved by the TGA. Check out this recent case where TGA fined a Sydney man nearly $8k for the alleged unlawful advertising of a disinfectant and hand sanitiser.

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